As social platforms continue to grow, we as humans are exposed to everything under the sun. We can now get a graduate level equivalence in coding by simply using Google and we can also find 8 different methods to accomplish the same goal in lifting, throwing, or mobility. We are truly in the stages of paralysis by analysis.
Has this ever been you? “I need more horizontal abduction in my delivery.” Bullshit. You need to throw more strikes at a harder velocity. In this blog I will outline a few ways you can go through a legitimate training program without yipping yourself to death.
1. Understand Why You’re Doing This In The FirstPlace
Why do we train? To fix our horizontal abduction, increase our internal rotation by 30 degrees, and make sure we break our hands in a supinated position, right? WRONG. We train to play better. We need to train with the end goal in mind which is performance. Although your metrics do play a part in performance your goal should be simple. Stay healthy and get outs. If you always focus on internal goals, you will never be able to let loose and play the game you enjoy.
2. Stop Pressing/Forcing Numbers
“We have two lives, and the second begins when we realize we only have one.” -Confucius
Ever notice that athletes become substantially better at their sports when they’re done playing competitively? The reason is we stop caring so much. As young athletes its completely natural to put pressure on yourself. At time, pressure can be a good thing. However, in turn of too much pressure yields a diminishing return. If you’re too hard on yourself, after abad outing, velo day, or injury you run the risk of a downward spiral. In turn, instead of adjusting your outlook on life and performance you try and train more and force the outcome you desire. Unfortunately, life and baseball do not work this way. If you truly want something organize your thoughts and your process for that outcome, do not force the issue.
3. Leave The Thinking To Your Coach/Trainer
When I first met JJ Niekro, he was a mid to upper 80’s righty. As an intelligent individual he always thought his process and outcomes through. This ties into the saying “Your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness.” In a sport that is mentally grueling, JJ struggled to constantly over analyze his mechanics, game footage, and analytics. As he continued tot rain with CP and gain velocity Ian Walsh finally said, “Stop thinking when you’re here. You can only just train and perform while you’re at the facility.” This may come to a surprise to some people, but JJ continued to climb in all facets of his performance. Over the off-season he averaged the highest average fastball velocity in his life, increased his HB on his slider, and completely transformed his body. He credits this to eliminating the over thinking and trusting his program. JJ trained implicitly for multiple years, however, if his conscious mind continued to reprogram and overwrite his subconscious then his training would not benefit him as it should. By eliminating most of his conscious thought his training has been able to clearly show in his performances.Also, if your coach just verbal cues you to death it may be time to consider finding a new coach/trainer.
4. Eliminate Your Word Salad
It’s easier than ever to search the internet, grab buzz words, and infatuate on the new terms. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve met with athletes on our kickoff calls and they’ve told me they needed to work on their horizontal abduction or vertical shin angle just because they watched a video on the internet about it. Having a vocabulary full of a bunch of words that you don’t understand doesn’t make you a better pitcher. It just fills your mind with an abundance of words that get in the way of your ultimate goal: to pitch better. Do you think Max Scherzer comes into the dugout in between innings and says “ah man my vertical shin angle is a little off. I better go fix it next inning.” Absolutely not. He’s trying to beat every single hitter himself.
5. Actually Enjoy Yourself
We spend so much time focusing on what’s wrong we never appreciate what’s right. If we have two athletes of the same exact skill set, build, work ethic, and capabilities but one shows up to train every day and has no appreciation for showing up everyday and complains after every bad workout or session and the other has fun, finds different creative ways to warm up, and has a positive long-term outlook, which athlete will succeed and not burn out? The second athlete obviously. Half of training and employment is just avoiding burn out and finding ways to show up and perform to the best of your capabilities for that day.
Overall, I think athletes often lose sight of the overall intention of why they put in constant work in training. Why do we lift weights?To play better. Why do we train our mobility? To play better. Why do we long toss? To perform to the best of their ability on the field once it matters. Unfortunately, a 102-mph pulldown can’t help you execute a 3-2 pitch with bases loaded up a run in However, the training can certainty help you overpower someone with your fastball. If you’re looking for a training program with real in game results, then look no further. Contact Training@Connected-Performance.comto get started.